Antenna control apparatus

ABSTRACT

An antenna control apparatus according to an embodiment includes a communication interface configured to receive identification information indicating whether each of a plurality of antennas received transmission information from a wireless tag. A storage unit stores a count for each of the plurality of antennas. A controller determines, for each of the plurality of antennas, whether the antenna received transmission information from a wireless tag based on a first received identification information. When at least one, but not all, of the plurality of antennas is determined to have not received transmission information from a wireless tag based on the first received identification information, the storage unit increments the count for each such antenna. When the count for one of the plurality of antennas is determined to exceed the predetermined value, the controller outputs a notification signal indicating that the one of the plurality of antennas has a malfunction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2016-037614, filed Feb. 29, 2016, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an antenna controlapparatus.

BACKGROUND

A POS system may utilize an RFID system capable of collectively readingcommodity code tags. In the RFID system, commodity codes of thecommodities in a shopping basket are collectively read from the RFIDtags attached to the commodities through an antenna of an RFIDreader/writer.

In a case in which the RFID reader/writer uses a plurality of antennas,even if malfunction occurs in one of the plurality of antennas, thecommodity code can still be read from the RFID tag located in acommunication range of the remaining antennas. However, if themalfunctioning antenna is not identified, settlement processing iscontinued in a state in which the commodity code of the commoditylocated in the communication range of the malfunctioning antenna is notbeing read. After the settlement, the commodity for which the commoditycode is not read may be taken out of the store without being accountedfor in the settlement processing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view illustrating an example configuration of aPOS system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example hardware configurationof the POS system;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example functional blockconfiguration of a POS terminal;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow of a signal in the POS system when the POSterminal outputs a reading command;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example data structure of correspondenceinformation;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts illustrating an example sequence ofoperations for detecting a malfunction of an antenna executed by the POSterminal;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flow of correspondence informationacquired by the POS terminal; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an example notification screen displayed on a firstdisplay and a second display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An antenna control apparatus according to an embodiment includes acommunication interface configured to receive identification informationindicating whether each of a plurality of antennas received transmissioninformation from a wireless tag. A storage unit stores a count for eachof the plurality of antennas. A controller determines, for each of theplurality of antennas, whether the antenna received transmissioninformation from a wireless tag based on a first received identificationinformation. When at least one, but not all, of the plurality ofantennas is determined to have not received transmission informationfrom a wireless tag based on the first received identificationinformation, the storage unit increments the count for each suchantenna. When the count for one of the plurality of antennas isdetermined to exceed the predetermined value, the controller outputs anotification signal indicating that the one of the plurality of antennashas a malfunction.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an antenna control apparatus is describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In theembodiment, the antenna control apparatus is utilized in a POS (Point ofSales) system.

Embodiment

FIG. 1 is an external view illustrating an example configuration of aPOS system 100 according to the present embodiment. A POS terminal 1shown in FIG. 1 is a POS register which acquires a commodity code of acommodity purchased by a customer to carry out registration andsettlement processing with respect to the purchased commodity. Thereader/writer 2 controls an antenna unit 3, in response to a readingcommand output from the POS terminal 1, to acquire the commodity code.The commodity code is received from an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier)tag via the antenna unit 3. The antenna unit 3 includes a plurality ofantennas to receive the commodity code from the RFID tag attached to thecommodity in a shopping basket C, indicated by broken lines. In FIG. 1,four RFID tags T1, T2, T3 and T4 are shown as an example, but the numberof RFID tags is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

The antenna control apparatus may be included in any one of the POSterminal 1 and the reader/writer 2. As an example, the antenna controlapparatus is included in the POS terminal, as shown in FIG. 1.

The POS terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a keyboard 102, a cardreader 103 and a receipt discharge port 104 on the upper surface of amain body 101. The keyboard 102 includes operation keys such as anumeric keypad, a department key, a subtotal key, a deposit/cash totalkey, a voucher issuing key, a settlement key and the like arrangedthereon. The card reader 103 includes a card slot, and reads cardinformation from a credit card, for example, with a reading head in thecard slot. The receipt discharge port 104 discharges a receipt printedby a printer 105 (refer to FIG. 2) that is inside the main body 101.

Further, the POS terminal 1 includes a first display 106-1 and a seconddisplay 106-2 on the upper surface of the main body 101. The firstdisplay 106-1 and second display 106-2 may be liquid crystal displays,for example. The first display 106-1 is arranged so that a displaysurface 106 a is directed toward an operator (hereinafter referred to asa cashier) who operates the keyboard 102. The second display 106-2 isarranged so that the back side thereof faces the back side of the firstdisplay 106-1. The display surface 106 a of the first display 106-1 maybe a touch-input type screen provided with a first touch panel 107 a.Similarly, the second display 106-2 may also be a touch-input typescreen and can be touched by the customer.

The POS terminal 1 further includes a hand-held scanner 108 for readinga commodity tag, on which a code symbol such as a barcode is printed,attached to the commodity. The POS terminal 1 includes a drawer 109 forstoring coins and bills, positioned at the lower side of the main body101. Further, the POS terminal 1 includes a communication interface suchas a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or an RS-232C in the main body 101. ThePOS terminal 1 and the reader/writer 2 can be connected through the USBor the RS-232C via a connection cable C1.

The reader/writer 2 includes indicator lights 124 in a main body 201.The reader/writer 2 includes a communication interface such as the USBor the RS-232C and a connection port for an antenna cable in the mainbody 201. The reader/writer 2 and the antenna unit 3 can be connectedvia an antenna cable C2.

The antenna unit 3 includes four antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 (refer toFIG. 2) inside a main body 301. The antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 arearranged to emit radio waves in different ranges in the shopping basketC. The antenna unit 3 can receive information from RFID tags T1, T2, T3and T4 on the commodities in the shopping basket C through the antennasL1, L2, L3 and L4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example hardware configurationof the POS system 100. The POS terminal 1 includes a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random AccessMemory) 113, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 114, the keyboard 102, the cardreader 103, the printer 105, the first display 106-1, the second display106-2, the first touch panel 107 a, the second touch panel 107 b, thehand-held scanner 108, the drawer 109 and a communication interface 110,which are mutually connected via a bus line Y1.

The CPU 111 executes an arithmetic processing and a control processingfor the hardware and each functional section. The ROM 112 storesessential programs such as a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The RAM113 is used as a working area at the time the CPU 111 executes theprogram. The CPU 111, ROM 112 and RAM 113 may be provided as amicrocomputer to control the whole POS terminal 1.

The HDD 114 stores various application programs and various data. TheHDD 114 includes, for example, a control program for controlling the POSterminal 1 and a program for commodity registration processing asvarious application programs. The HDD 114 in the present embodimentstores data such as a flag value and variable values used to detectmalfunction of each of the antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 and screen datasuch as a notification screen G (refer to FIG. 9) for notifying themalfunction. The HDD 114 further contains a commodity master table, aregistration table and the like.

The keyboard 102 outputs an input signal according to an input receivedthrough the operation key to the CPU 111. The card reader 103 outputsthe card information read by the reading head to the CPU 111. Theprinter 105 is driven in response to a print command from the CPU 111 tocarry out a printing operation for printing print data on a receipt andto discharge the receipt. The first display 106-1 displays screen dataoutput by the CPU 111 on the display surface 106 a. The second display106-2 displays screen data output by the CPU 111 on the display surfaceof the second display 106-2. The first touch panel 107 a detects a touchoperation on the display surface 106 a and outputs a signal indicating atouch position to the CPU 111. The second touch panel 107 b detects atouch operation on the display surface of the second display 106-2 andoutputs a signal indicating a touch position to the CPU 111. Thehand-held scanner 108 reads a printed surface of the commodity tagattached to the commodity to output the commodity code to the CPU 111.The drawer 109 moves to extend from a housing case of the drawer 109 inresponse to a releasing signal output by the CPU 111. The communicationinterface 110 communicates with the communication interface 127 of thereader/writer 2 via the RS-232C or the USB.

Each section of the POS terminal 1 operates with power supplied from apower supply module such as an AC power source or a battery.

The reader/writer 2 shown in FIG. 2 includes a CPU 121, a ROM 122, a RAM123, indicator lights 124, a buzzer 125, an antenna connection interface126 and a communication interface 127, which are mutually connected viaa bus line Y2.

The CPU 121 executes an arithmetic processing and a control processingof each section. The ROM 122 stores a BIOS and a control program. TheRAM 123 is used as a working area for the CPU 121 to execute theprogram. The RAM 123 has a temporary storage area to storeidentification information of the antenna and the commodity code as aworking area.

The indicator lights 124 may each be an LED that turn on and offaccording to an output signal from the CPU 121 to each indicator light124. The buzzer 125 turns a buzzer sound on and off according to anoutput signal from the CPU 121. The communication interface 127communicates with the communication interface 110 of the POS terminal 1via the RS-232C or the USB.

The antenna connection interface 126 alternatively selects portsconnected with the antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 in a predetermined orderaccording to a control signal from the CPU 121 to communicate with theRFID tag through each of the antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4. FIG. 2 shows aswitch 126-1 for selecting ports with an electronic or mechanicalswitching as an example. The antenna connection interface 126 drives anantenna connected with the port to transmit an inquiry wave and receivesa response wave via the antenna.

The reader/writer 2 operates with power from a power supply module suchas an AC power source or a battery.

The antenna unit 3 includes four antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4. Each of theantennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 is, for example, an antenna of a circularlypolarized system, and is a device capable of carrying out bothtransmission and reception. Each of the antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 isconnected with the antenna connection interface 126 of the reader/writer2 via the antenna cable C2.

Next, the functional block of the POS terminal 1 is described. The POSterminal 1 reads out various programs from the ROM 112 and the HDD 114to the RAM 113 to execute the programs and perform various functionssuch as a commodity registration function, a commodity settlementfunction and an antenna malfunction detection function.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example functional blockconfiguration of the POS terminal 1 relating to the malfunctiondetection of the antennas. A reading section 10 shown in FIG. 3 outputsthe reading command of the RFID tag to the communication interface 110(refer to FIG. 2). In response to the reading command, the communicationinterface 110 outputs a signal E1 (refer to FIG. 4) indicating a readingstart of the RFID tag to the reader/writer 2 (refer to FIG. 4) connectedwith the communication interface 110. The reading section 10 acquirescorrespondence information D (refer to FIG. 4) sent by the reader/writer2 to the POS terminal 1 via the communication interface 110 (refer toFIG. 2). The correspondence information D (described further later) isgenerated by associating the commodity code received by each of theantennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 (refer to FIG. 4) with the identificationinformation (antenna numbers A1, A2, A3 and A4) of the antenna whichreceives the commodity code by the reader/writer 2 (refer to FIG. 4).

The controller 11 (shown in FIG. 3) outputs the notification signal to anotification module of the POS terminal 1 when at least one of theantenna numbers A1, A2, A3 and A4 (refer to FIG. 4) is not included inthe correspondence information D (refer to FIG. 4) read by the readingsection 10. In the present embodiment, the POS terminal 1 (refer to FIG.2) includes the first display 106-1 (refer to FIG. 2) and the seconddisplay 106-2 (refer to FIG. 2) as the notification module. Thus, thecontroller 11 outputs a notification screen data as the notificationsignal to the notification module. In the foregoing description, thenotification signal is output when at least of the antenna numbers A1,A2, A3 and A4 is not included in the correspondence information D.However, the output condition of the notification signal may bedifferent according to a format of the correspondence information Dgenerated by the reader/writer 2. For example, as one condition, a casein which at least one antenna number is absent is described above.Alternatively, there may be a case in which each antenna number isincluded in the correspondence information D but no commodity codecorresponding to each antenna number is contained. In the presentembodiment, the description is based on the assumption that thenotification signal is output there is at least one antenna number notincluded in the correspondence information D (the former condition).

With respect to reading of the commodity codes, it is also consideredthat the commodity code is read or not read by the antennas due toinclination of the RFID tags or overlap of the RFID tags in the shoppingbasket C (refer to FIG. 1). Thus, it is desirable to take measures toavoid a false determination of a malfunction of an antenna if thecommodity code cannot be read due to the inclination or overlap of theRFID tag, for example.

In such a case described above, the controller 11 shown in the presentembodiment includes a counting section 11-1 and a notification section11-2 as an example. The counting section 11-1 counts a number of times,for each of the antenna numbers A1, A2, A3 and A4, the data of thecorrespondence information D is read by the reading section 10 (for eachcycle of concurrent reading). The notification section 11-2 outputs thenotification signal when the number of times of any one of the antennanumbers exceeds a threshold value. For the threshold value, an optimumvalue such as one, five, ten, twenty, thirty or the like may bedetermined according to arrangement of each of the antennas L1, L2, L3and L4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow of a signal in the POS system 100 when the POSterminal 1 outputs the reading command. As shown in FIG. 4, the signalE1 indicating that POS terminal 1 starts the reading is output to thereader/writer 2.

The reader/writer 2 receives the signal (E1) through the communicationinterface 127 (refer to FIG. 2); and under the control of the CPU 121(refer to FIG. 2), the antenna connection interface 126 (refer to FIG.2) sequentially switches the connecting port of each of the antennas L1,L2, L3 and L4 in a predetermined order. Through the switching, theantennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 (refer to FIG. 4) are driven in thepredetermined order to output a signal E2 containing the commodity codesof the RFID tags T1, T2, T3 and T4 to the reader/writer 2.

In the illustrated example, the RFID tags T1, T2, T3 and T4 are arrangedas shown in FIG. 4 and the switching of the connection ports of theantennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 is executed in order. In such a case, thereader/writer 2 is first connected with the antenna L1 to acquire fromthe antenna L1 a commodity code t1 of the RFID tag T1 located in thecommunication area of the antenna L1. The reader/writer 2 stores theacquired commodity code t1 in the RAM 123 in association with an antennanumber A1 of the antenna L1. The reader/writer 2 is connected with theantenna L2 to acquire from the antenna L2 a commodity code t2 of theRFID tag T2 located in the communication area of the antenna L2. Thereader/writer 2 stores the acquired commodity code t2 in the RAM 123 inassociation with an antenna number A2 of the antenna L2. Thereader/writer 2 further acquires a commodity code t3 and a commoditycode t4 from the antenna L3 and the antenna L4 in order and stores theacquired commodity code t3 and the commodity code t4 in the RAM 123 inassociation with the antenna numbers of the antennas L3 and L4.

After driving all the antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 in the predeterminedorder, the reader/writer 2 transmits the correspondence information D—inother words, each of the commodity codes t1, t2, t3 and t4 acquired viaeach of the antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 in correspondence with theantenna number of the antenna used to acquire each the commodity code—asa reading signal E3 with the antenna numbers from the communicationinterface 127 (refer to FIG. 2) to the POS terminal 1.

The POS terminal 1 receives the reading signal (E3) with the antennanumbers sent from the reader/writer 2 after the output of the readingcommand (E1) to carry out a processing relating to a malfunctiondetection of the antenna on the basis of the correspondence informationD contained in the reading signal (E3). The POS terminal 1 carries out acommodity registration and a settlement processing for the commoditycodes contained in the correspondence information D when each of theantennas L1, L2, L3 and L4 normally operates. Furthermore, the POSterminal 1 discards the commodity code if a malfunction of the antennais determined (termination of a cycle of the concurrent reading).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the data structure of thecorrespondence information D. As shown in FIG. 5, the correspondenceinformation D has data structure in which an antenna number d1 and acommodity code d2 are associated with each other. The antenna number d1indicates the antenna which acquired the commodity code. The commoditycode d2 indicates the commodity code acquired by the antenna identifiedby the antenna number. In a case in which the antenna acquires aplurality of the commodity codes, all the acquired commodity codes arecontained.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are flow charts illustrating an example sequence ofoperations for detecting a malfunction of an antenna executed by the POSterminal 1. For example, a customer places the shopping basket C (referto FIG. 1) at a predetermined position on the antenna unit 3 (refer toFIG. 1), and a cashier, i.e., store clerk touches a concurrent readingkey displayed on the first display 106-1 (refer to FIG. 1) of the POSterminal 1. Through such an operation, the CPU 111 receives an inputindicating the start of the commodity registration processing from thefirst touch panel 107 a (refer to FIG. 2).

The CPU 111 allocates flag setting areas (flag 1, flag 2, flag 3 andflag 4) and counter areas (parameter K1, parameter K2, parameter K3 andparameter K4) for the antennas in the RAM 113 (refer to FIG. 2).

The flags 1-4 and the parameters K1-K4 are respectively associated withantenna numbers of the antennas acting as an operating object. Inparticular, the flag 1 and the parameter K1 are associated with theantenna number A1. The flag 2 and the parameter K2 are associated withthe antenna number A2. The flag 3 and the parameter K3 are associatedwith the antenna number A3. The flag 4 and the parameter K4 areassociated with the antenna number A4. The antenna acting as theoperating object stores the antenna number of the antenna connected witheach port in the HDD 114 in advance as setting information to be capableof identifying the antenna. For example, the antenna numbers A1, A2, A3and A4 are registered in advance from a setting screen of a drivercorresponding to the reader/writer 2, and in this way, the antennaacting as the operating object can be identified.

The CPU 111 sets a flag value and variable values of each antenna storedin the HDD 114 to respective values to execute a commodity registrationprocessing program.

The flag setting area indicates whether or not the non-appearance of theantenna number is continuous. In a case in which the value of the flagarea is “1”, the non-appearance of the antenna number is continuous. Thecounter area indicates the continuous number of times of thenon-appearance of the antenna number. Hereinafter, the processing flowis properly described with reference to FIG. 2.

The CPU 111, first, outputs the reading command for the reader/writer 2to the communication interface 110 (ACT S1).

The CPU 111 reads the correspondence information D (refer to FIG. 5)received via the communication interface 110 from the reader/writer 2(ACT S2).

The CPU 111 carries out “a processing of detecting malfunction of theantenna” on the basis of the data read from correspondence informationD. In the following examples, the antenna number of each of the antennasL1, L2, L3 and L4 is set to A1, A2, A3 and A4, respectively. In thedescription exemplified later, there may be commodities with commoditycodes t5, t6, following the commodity code t4 in the shopping basket C(refer to FIG. 1).

(Normal Processing in a Case in which all the Antennas L1, L2, L3 and L4Normally Operate)

Following the processing in ACT S2, the CPU 111 determines whether ornot the antenna number A1 is contained in the correspondence informationD (ACT S3). If the antenna number A1 is contained in the information Din ACT S3 (Yes in ACT S3), the CPU 111 reads the flag 1 to determinewhether or not the value of the flag 1 is “0” (ACT S4). If the value ofthe flag 1 is “0” in ACT S4 (Yes in ACT S4), the CPU 111 determineswhether or not the antenna number A2 is contained in the correspondenceinformation D (ACT S5). If the antenna number A2 is contained in theinformation D in ACT S5 (Yes in ACT S5), the CPU 111 reads the flag 2 todetermine whether or not the value of the flag 2 is “0” (ACT S6).

If the value of the flag 2 is “0” in ACT S6 (Yes in ACT S6), the CPU 111determines whether or not the antenna number A3 is contained in thecorrespondence information D (ACT S7). If the antenna number A3 iscontained in the information D in ACT S7 (Yes in ACT S7), the CPU 111reads the flag 3 to determine whether or not the value of the flag 3 is“0” (ACT S8). If the value of the flag 3 is “0” in ACT S8 (Yes in ACTS8), the CPU 111 determines whether or not the antenna number A4 iscontained in the correspondence information D (ACT S9). If the antennanumber A4 is contained in the information D in ACT S9 (Yes in ACT S9),the CPU 111 reads the flag 4 to determine whether or not the value ofthe flag 4 is “0” (ACT S10).

If the value of the flag 4 is “0” in ACT S10 (Yes in ACT S10), the CPU111 determines whether or not any one of parameters K1, K2, K3 and K4exceeds an upper limit value (threshold value) (ACT S11). If all theparameters K1, K2, K3 and K4 do not exceed the upper limit value in ACTS11 (No in ACT S11), the CPU 111 executes the registration processing ofthe commodity codes contained in the correspondence information D (ACTS12). In the registration processing, record information such as acorresponding commodity name and a unit price is acquired from thecommodity master table on the basis of the acquired commodity code, andthe record information is registered in a registration table as apurchased commodity. Herein, the registration processing is shown;however, the settlement processing may be executed after theregistration of the commodity is executed. If the registrationprocessing (or, registration processing and the settlement processing)is terminated, the processing of one transaction is ended, and the CPU111 displays the concurrent reading key on the first display 106-1.

(Temporary Setting Processing of a Case in which Antenna Malfunction isSuspected)

If the antenna number A1 is not contained in the correspondenceinformation D, No is determined in ACT S3. Then, the CPU 111 determineswhether or not the antenna number A2 is contained in the correspondenceinformation D (ACT S13). If the antenna number A2 is contained in thecorrespondence information D in ACT S13 (Yes in ACT S13), the CPU 111sets the flag 1 to the value “1” (ACT S14), further adds the value “1”to the value of the parameter K1 to increase the continuous number oftimes (ACT S15), and proceeds to the processing in ACT S5.

If the antenna number A2 is not contained in the correspondenceinformation D, No is determined in ACT S5. The CPU 111 sets the flag 2to the value “1” (ACT S16), further adds the value “1” to the value ofthe parameter K2 (ACT S17), and proceeds to the processing in ACT S6.

If the antenna number A3 is not contained in the correspondenceinformation D, No is determined in ACT S7. The CPU 111 sets the flag 3to the value “1” (ACT S18), further adds the value “1” to the value ofthe parameter K3 (ACT S19), and proceeds to the processing in ACT S8.

If the antenna number A4 is not contained in the correspondenceinformation D, No is determined in ACT S9. The CPU 111 sets the flag 4to the value “1” (ACT S20), further adds the value “1” to the value ofthe parameter K4 (ACT S21), and proceeds to the processing in ACT S10.

If the non-appearance state “flag value=1” of the antenna number iscontinuous in the commodity registration processing of each commoditydue to the antenna malfunction, the value of the parameter K of theantenna number in the non-appearance state is added by 1 for eachtransaction, and the value thereof is gradually increased. If the valueof the foregoing parameter K exceeds the upper limit value, in ACT S11,the CPU 111 determines that the value of the parameter K exceeds theupper limit value (Yes in ACT S11). As a result, the CPU 111 erases allthe acquired commodity codes for one transaction (ACT S22), and outputsa notification screen G (refer to FIG. 9) indicating the antenna numberof the antenna which is out of order to the first display 106-1 and thesecond display 106-2 (ACT S23).

The CPU 111 determines whether or not a hand scanning mode key B1 (referto FIG. 9) on the notification screen G is touched (ACT S24). If thehand scanning mode key B1 is touched (Yes in ACT S24), the CPU 111outputs the commodity registration screen instead of the notificationscreen G to carry out registration of the commodity code using thehand-held scanner 108 (ACT S25). In particular, the CPU 111 receives thecommodity code read by the hand-held scanner 108 in ACT S25. The CPU 111acquires the record information such as the corresponding commodity nameand the unit price from the commodity master table on the basis of thereceived commodity code to register the information in the registrationtable as the purchased commodity. As described above, the settlementprocessing may be executed after the registration of the commodity iscarried out. If the registration processing (or, the registrationprocessing and the settlement processing) is terminated, the processingof one transaction is ended, and the CPU 111 displays the hand scanningmode key on the first display 106-1.

Furthermore, if a close key B2 (refer to FIG. 9) is touched in ACT S24(No in ACT S24), the CPU 111 terminates the output of the notificationscreen G (refer to FIG. 9) to the first display 106-1 and the seconddisplay 106-2 (ACT S26).

(Recovering Processing in a Case in which No Antenna Malfunction isDetermined after Antenna Malfunction is Suspected)

If the antenna number A1 is contained in a subsequent correspondenceinformation D following a preceding correspondence information in whichthe antenna number A2 was not contained, No is determined in ACT S4. TheCPU 111 sets the value “1” of the flag 1 to the value “0” (ACT S31),further resets the value of the parameter K1 to “0” (ACT S32), andproceeds to the processing in ACT S5.

If the antenna number A2 is contained in a subsequent correspondenceinformation D following a preceding correspondence information in whichthe antenna number A2 was not contained, No is determined in ACT S6. TheCPU 111 sets the value “1” of the flag 2 to the value “0” (ACT S33),further resets the value of the parameter K2 to “0” (ACT S34), andproceeds to the processing in ACT S7.

If the antenna number A3 is contained in a subsequent correspondenceinformation D following a preceding correspondence information in whichthe antenna number A2 was not contained, No is determined in ACT S8. TheCPU 111 sets the value “1” of the flag 3 to the value “0” (ACT S35),further resets the value of the parameter K3 to “0” (ACT S36), andproceeds to the processing in ACT S9.

If the antenna number A4 is contained in a subsequent correspondenceinformation D following a preceding correspondence information in whichthe antenna number A2 was not contained, No is determined in ACT S10.The CPU 111 sets the value “1” of the flag 4 to the value “0” (ACT S37),further resets the value of the parameter K4 to “0” (ACT S38), andproceeds to the processing in ACT S11.

In the subsequent reading of the commodity code, it is assumed that thecommodity code in the shopping basket C (refer to FIG. 1) is read or notread by an antenna due to inclination or overlap of the RFID tagaccording to the transaction. In order not to determine such a case tobe the antenna malfunction by mistake, the continuous number of times isreset in a case of successfully reading the commodity code again so asnot to exceed the upper limit value through the processing describedabove.

(No Counting Processing in which Malfunction of Antenna is notDetermined)

If the antenna number A1 is not contained in the correspondenceinformation D, No is determined in ACT S3. Further, if the antennanumber A2 is not contained in the correspondence information D, No isdetermined in ACT S13. The CPU 111 determines whether or not the antennanumber A3 is contained in the correspondence information D (ACT S41). Ifthe antenna number A3 is not contained in ACT S41 (No in ACT S41), theCPU 111 determines whether or not the antenna number A4 is contained inthe correspondence information D (ACT S42). If the antenna number A4 isnot contained in ACT S42 (No in ACT S42), the CPU 111 proceeds to theprocessing in ACT S23.

If all the antenna numbers A1, A2, A3 and A4 are not contained in thecorrespondence information D, it is assumed that no RFID tags areattached to the commodities in the shopping basket C. Since themalfunction of the antenna is unlikely to occur, such a case isconsidered as no counting and the counts of the continuousnon-appearance number, i.e., the current values of K1, K2, K3 and K4,are maintained.

Furthermore, if the antenna number A3 is contained in the correspondenceinformation D in ACT S41 (Yes in ACT S41), the CPU 111 proceeds to theprocessing in ACT S14. This is a processing of a case in which only theantenna numbers A1 and A2 do not appear.

If the antenna number A4 is contained in ACT S42 (Yes in ACT S42), theCPU 111 proceeds to the processing in ACT S14. This is a processing of acase in which all the antenna numbers except the antenna number A4 donot appear.

At the time of the termination of the present program, each value of theflags 1-4 and each value of the parameters K1-K4 are stored in the HDD114.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an acquisition flow ofthe correspondence information D acquired from the reader/writer 2 bythe POS terminal 1. FIG. 8(a) illustrates correspondence information D1containing all the antenna numbers A1, A2, A3 and A4. FIG. 8(b)illustrates correspondence information D2, acquired in a transactionimmediately after the correspondence information D1, which does notcontain the antenna number A1. FIG. 8(c) illustrates correspondenceinformation D3, acquired in a transaction immediately after thecorrespondence information D2, which contains the antenna number A1again. FIG. 8(d) illustrates correspondence information D4, acquired ina transaction immediately after the correspondence information D3, whichdoes not contain any antenna number. FIG. 8(e) illustratescorrespondence information D5, acquired in a transaction immediatelyafter the correspondence information D4, which does not contain theantenna number A3. FIG. 8(f) illustrates correspondence information D35which does not contain the antenna number A3 after a number oftransactions equal to the upper limit value subsequent to thecorrespondence information D5 is carried out. Furthermore, thecorrespondence information D5-D35 each do not contain the antenna numberA3.

Hereinafter, the correspondence relationship between the flow charts ofacquisition of the correspondence information shown in FIG. 8 andprocessing flow charts shown in FIG. 6-FIG. 7 is shown. First, the CPU111 carries out a normal processing in the transaction of thecorrespondence information D1.

The CPU 111 subsequently carries out the temporary setting processing ofthe antenna number A1 in the transaction of the correspondenceinformation D2. In particular, the CPU 111 sets the flag 1 to the value“1” in ACT S14, and further adds the value “1” to the value of theparameter K1 in ACT S15.

The CPU 111 carries out the recovery processing of the antenna number A1in the transaction of the correspondence information D3 because antennanumber A1 is included in correspondence information D3. Accordingly, theCPU 111 resets the flag 1 to value “0” in ACT S31 and further resets thevalue of the parameter K1 to value “0” in ACT S32.

The CPU 111 carries out the no counting processing in the transaction ofthe correspondence information D4 because none of the antenna numbersA1-A4 are included in correspondence information D4. Accordingly, theCPU 111 determines No in ACT S3, No in ACT S13, No in ACT S41, No in ACTS42, and maintains the count value of each parameter K1, K2, K3 and K4of each antenna.

The CPU 111 carries out the temporary setting processing of the antennanumber A3 in the transaction of the correspondence information D5because antenna number A3 is not included in correspondence D5.Accordingly, the CPU 111 sets the flag 3 to the value “1” in ACT S18 andfurther adds the value “1” to the value of the parameter K3 in ACT S19.

The CPU 111 continues to add the value “1” to the value of the parameterK3 in ACT S19 until the transaction of the correspondence informationD35 is carried out.

The CPU 111 determines that the antenna L3 (antenna number A3) is out oforder in the transaction of the correspondence information D35 becausethe value of the parameter K3 exceeds the upper limit value.Accordingly, the CPU 111 displays the notification screen G (refer toFIG. 9) indicating the antenna number A3.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the notification screen displayed onthe first display 106-1 (refer to FIG. 2) and the second display 106-2(refer to FIG. 2). The notification screen G shown in FIG. 9 containsnotification information J indicating malfunction of the antenna, thehand scanning mode key B1 and the close key B2.

The notification information J contains the antenna number of theantenna which is out of order as the information indicating malfunctionof the antenna.

The hand scanning mode key B1 is an operation key for instructing theCPU 111 to proceed with the commodity registration processing in thehand scanning mode (refer to FIG. 2).

The close key B2 is an operation key for instructing the CPU 111 toclose the notification screen G being displayed.

In the present embodiment, the RFID tag is shown as an example of awireless tag for transmitting the commodity code; however, the wirelesstag may be one with other communication method as long as it cantransmit the commodity code.

In the present embodiment, the antenna unit 3 in which four antennas arebuilt as a plurality of antennas is exemplified. However, the number ofthe antennas connected to the reader/writer 2 and the arrangement of theantenna are not limited to those. The number of the antennas connectedto the reader/writer 2 is not limited as long as the number of theantennas is two or more. Each antenna may be arranged in one antennaunit, or may also be arranged in a plurality of the antenna units. Forexample, in a case in which there are four antennas, four antenna unitseach having one antenna may be connected to the four connection ports ofthe reader/writer 2. If a plurality of the antenna units is arranged,the arrangement of each antenna unit may be properly set. For example,the antenna unit may be properly set, for example, radiation surf acesof the antenna units are respectively placed with an angle each other orthe antenna units are arranged at a distance. In addition, the antennamay further include a reflecting member (metal plate, etc.) so thatradio waves emitted by the antennas hit the commodity from variousdirections.

In the present embodiment, the first display 106-1 (refer to FIG. 2) andthe second display 106-2 (refer to FIG. 2) are shown as an example ofthe notification module. However, the notification module is not limitedto this. For example, as the notification module, a voice circuit and aspeaker may be provided to carry out notification through sound orvoice. A rotating light may be provided to carry out notification for amanager, for example.

In the present embodiment, it is described that the reader/writer 2stores the antenna number and the commodity code in a buffer andtransmits the correspondence information D to the POS terminal 1 as areply of the reading command. However, modification may be made in sucha manner that the reader/writer 2 may transmit the commodity code andthe corresponding antenna number to the POS terminal 1 every time thecommodity code is received to generate the correspondence information Dat the POS terminal 1 side.

In the present embodiment, the POS terminal is described as an exampleof the control apparatus; however, the control apparatus is not limitedto the POS terminal. The control apparatus may be applied to otherapparatuses. For example, in a case in which the control apparatus isapplied to the reader/writer, the reader/writer executes the processingof detecting the malfunction based on the correspondence informationacquired from the antenna. The reader/writer lights an indicator lightof the reader/writer or sounds a buzzer to notify the cashier of themalfunction if the antenna which is out of order is specified. Thereader/writer outputs the notification signal to the POS terminal toenable the POS terminal to display the notification screen.

As described above, the control apparatus according to the presentembodiment executes a processing of detecting the malfunction of theantenna based on not only the commodity code (commodity identificationinformation) but also the antenna number (identification information) ofthe antenna which receives the commodity code. An antenna which is outof order does not acquire a commodity code of the wireless tag, e.g.,RFID tag. The control apparatus specifies the antenna which is out oforder by detecting such an antenna number, and informs the cashier,i.e., store clerk, of the fault if at least one is specified. Since itmay take an operation to cancel the registration of the commoditysubject to the execution of the concurrent reading at that time, a casein which a commodity which is not settled is taken out of the store canbe avoided.

The programs executed by the control apparatus of the present embodimentmay be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as aCD-ROM, a FD (Flexible Disk), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) andthe like in the form of installable or executable file to be provided,or may be executed through being read in the HDD or the ROM (flash ROM)of the control apparatus.

Further, the programs may be stored in a computer connected with anetwork such as internet and downloaded via the network to be supplied.

Although the configuration of the control apparatus is described in theforegoing embodiment, the embodiment is illustrated as an example butnot as limitation to the scope of the present invention. Novelembodiments may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore,various omissions, substitutions, variations or combinations may bedevised without departing from the spirit of the inventions. Theaccompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover suchforms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of theinventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An antenna control apparatus, comprising: acommunication interface configured to receive identification informationindicating whether each of a plurality of antennas received transmissioninformation from a wireless tag; a storage unit that stores a count foreach of the plurality of antennas; and a controller configured to:determine, for each of the plurality of antennas, whether the antennareceived transmission information from a wireless tag based on a firstreceived identification information, when at least one, but not all, ofthe plurality of antennas is determined to have not receivedtransmission information from a wireless tag based on the first receivedidentification information, control the storage unit to increment thecount for each such antenna, determine whether the count for any of theplurality of antennas exceeds a predetermined value, and when the countfor one of the plurality of antennas is determined to exceed thepredetermined value, output a notification signal indicating that theone of the plurality of antennas has a malfunction.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein: when all of the plurality of antennas aredetermined to have not received transmission information from a wirelesstag, the count for each of the plurality of antennas is not incremented.3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to: determine, for each of the plurality of antennas, whetherthe antenna received transmission information from a wireless tag basedon a second received identification information that was receivedimmediately subsequent to the first received information, and when oneof the plurality of antennas is determined to have not receivedtransmission information from a wireless tag based on the first receivedidentification information, and when the same one of the plurality ofantennas is determined to have received transmission information from awireless tag based on the second received identification information,the controller controls the storage unit to reset the counter for theone of the plurality of antennas.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a display device controlled by the controller todisplay notification information based on the notification signal. 5.The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display device is atleast one liquid crystal display.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 4,wherein the display device is a plurality of LED lights.
 7. Theapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a speaker controlledby the controller to provide a sound indicating that the one of theplurality of antennas has a malfunction based on the notificationsignal.
 8. A method for controlling antennas, comprising the steps of:receiving a first identification information indicating whether each ofa plurality of antennas received transmission information from awireless tag; storing a count for each of the plurality of antennas;determining, for each of the plurality of antennas, whether the antennareceived transmission information from a wireless tag based on the firstreceived identification information; when at least one, but not all, ofthe plurality of antennas is determined to have not receivedtransmission information from a wireless tag based on the first receivedidentification information, incrementing the count for each suchantenna; determining whether the count for any of the plurality ofantennas exceeds a predetermined value; and when the count for one ofthe plurality of antennas is determined to exceed the predeterminedvalue, output a notification signal indicating that the one of theplurality of antennas has a malfunction.
 9. The method according toclaim 8, wherein: when all of the plurality of antennas are determinedto have not received transmission information from a wireless tag, thecount for each of the plurality of antennas is not incremented.
 10. Themethod according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of: receiving,immediately subsequent to the first received information, a secondidentification information indicating whether each of the plurality ofantennas received transmission information from a wireless tag;determining, for each of the plurality of antennas, whether the antennareceived transmission information from a wireless tag based on thesecond received identification; and when one of the plurality ofantennas is determined to have not received transmission informationfrom a wireless tag based on the first received identificationinformation, and when the same one of the plurality of antennas isdetermined to have received transmission information from a wireless tagbased on the second received identification information, resetting thecounter for the one of the plurality of antennas.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 8, further comprising the steps of: controlling adisplay device to display notification information based on thenotification signal.
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein thedisplay device is at least one liquid crystal display.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the display device is a plurality of LEDlights.
 14. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the stepof: controlling a speaker controlled to provide a sound indicating thatthe one of the plurality of antennas has a malfunction based on thenotification signal.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable mediumcontaining instructions causing a point of sale system to perform anantenna control method, the method comprising the steps of: receiving afirst identification information indicating whether each of a pluralityof antennas received transmission information from a wireless tag;storing a count for each of the plurality of antennas; determining, foreach of the plurality of antennas, whether the antenna receivedtransmission information from a wireless tag based on the first receivedidentification information; when at least one, but not all, of theplurality of antennas is determined to have not received transmissioninformation from a wireless tag based on the first receivedidentification information, incrementing the count for each suchantenna; determining whether the count for any of the plurality ofantennas exceeds a predetermined value; and when the count for one ofthe plurality of antennas is determined to exceed the predeterminedvalue, output a notification signal indicating that the one of theplurality of antennas has a malfunction.
 16. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 15, wherein: when all of theplurality of antennas are determined to have not received transmissioninformation from a wireless tag, the count for each of the plurality ofantennas is not incremented.
 17. The non-transitory computer readablemedium according to claim 15, the method further comprising the stepsof: receiving, immediately subsequent to the first received information,a second identification information indicating whether each of theplurality of antennas received transmission information from a wirelesstag; determining, for each of the plurality of antennas, whether theantenna received transmission information from a wireless tag based onthe second received identification; and when one of the plurality ofantennas is determined to have not received transmission informationfrom a wireless tag based on the first received identificationinformation, and when the same one of the plurality of antennas isdetermined to have received transmission information from a wireless tagbased on the second received identification information, resetting thecounter for the one of the plurality of antennas.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium according to claim 15, the method furthercomprising the steps of: controlling a display device of the point ofsale system to display notification information based on thenotification signal.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable mediumaccording to claim 17, wherein the display device is at least one liquidcrystal display.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable mediumaccording to claim 17, wherein the display device is a rotating light.